Reinsurance News
SOBC DARAG acquires Florida insurer in U.S expansion move
5th November 2018
SOBC DARAG, the newly-formed joint venture between U.S run-off specialist SOBC and European legacy acquirer DARAG, has completed its acquisition of Florida-based Peachtree Casualty Insurance Company. The acquisition, which was first announced in August 2018, marks SOBC DARAG’s first U.S acquisition and represents part of the initial stage of the ... Read the full article
Occam appoints new Board member and CFO
5th November 2018
Specialty Lloyd’s of London managing general agent (MGA) Occam Underwriting has announced the appointments of Daniel Carr to the Board of Directors of the Company and Mark Fisher as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Carr has been with Occam since 2015 and will also continue in his role as Head of Innovation ... Read the full article
The U.S. TCJA could have more immediate implications for Bermuda’s re/insurers: KBRA
5th November 2018
The U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law in December of 2017, could have more immediate implications for Bermuda insurers and reinsurers, according to analysis by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA). In a recent report, KBRA discusses potential implications for Bermudian re/insurance companies regarding the implementation of the ... Read the full article
Hiscox premium growth continues, but expects it to slow as market still challenging
5th November 2018
Strong growth in premiums underwritten has continued at global specialist insurance and reinsurance firm Hiscox, but the firm expects this will slow down and moderate over the rest of the year as the market remains challenging. Hiscox reported its nine-month results this morning, citing an increase in gross written premiums 14.3% ... Read the full article
Berkshire Hathaway’s underwriting profits rise on fewer catastrophe losses
5th November 2018
The insurance and reinsurance units of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway have experienced a strong bounce back from the major catastrophe losses of the prior year, delivering almost $1.8 billion of underwriting profit for the first nine-months of 2018. Berkshire Hathaway has reported a $441 million underwriting profit for Q3 2018, a ... Read the full article
Berkshire Hathaway pegs hurricane Michael loss at up to $550m
4th November 2018
In announcing its latest quarterly results this weekend, Berkshire Hathaway, the Warren Buffett owned giant conglomerate, said that its insurance and reinsurance businesses expect up to $550 million of catastrophe losses from hurricane Michael. Hurricane Michael struck the Florida Panhandle a deadly blow on October 10th, coming ashore as a major ... Read the full article
NFIP’s 2019 flood reinsurance renewal process begins
2nd November 2018
The U.S Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has begun the 2019 reinsurance program renewal process for its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), with the possibility of a multi-year deal being sought. FEMA first entered the reinsurance market in 2016 with $1 million of flood protection running from 19 September 2016 to ... Read the full article
Manulife reinsures $8bn of policy liabilities to Jackson National Life
2nd November 2018
Canadian multinational insurer Manulife has announced that its subsidiaries have entered into agreements to reinsure approximately $8 billion of policy liabilities related to legacy U.S group payout annuities to Jackson National Life Insurance Company. This transaction, along with two separate deals announced today, are expected to release a total of ... Read the full article
Rising P&C reinsurance rates put pressure on Caribbean cedents: A.M. Best
2nd November 2018
Primary property and casualty (P&C) insurers in the Caribbean market remained mired in a protracted soft market cycle, but rising reinsurance costs could force companies to introduce some much-needed rate increases, according to a report by A.M. Best. The rating agency noted that insurers were unable to implement rate enhancements in ... Read the full article
TransRe’s cat losses push Alleghany to Q3 underwriting loss
2nd November 2018
Alleghany Corporation fell to an underwriting loss of $140 million in the third-quarter of 2018, driven in part by the impacts of catastrophe losses on its reinsurance arm, Transatlantic Reinsurance Company (TransRe). In total, catastrophe losses in the third-quarter cost Alleghany $179.3 million, with more than 81%, or $146.1 million of the losses ... Read the full article
Aon, Etherisc and Oxfam partner on joint micro-insurance program in Sri Lanka
2nd November 2018
Re/insurance broker Aon is collaborating with Oxfam and InsurTech firm Etherisc on a joint program to deliver micro-insurance to small holder paddy field farmers in Sri Lanka using blockchain technology. The parties plan to leverage blockchain to automate parametric insurance products, which will simplify the claims process and remove the need ... Read the full article
Market conditions in Arch’s P&C business relatively unchanged, says CEO
2nd November 2018
Marc Grandisson, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Arch Capital Group, has said that overall market conditions in the firm’s property and casualty (P&C) business seems relatively unchanged from last-quarter. Furthermore, Grandisson believes that additional rate increases are needed to provide a more adequate margin of safety and broader growth ... Read the full article
Implementing autonomous tech into reserving practices a benefit for re/insurers: Mark Hewitt
2nd November 2018
In light of the potential for future changes to the Ogden discount rate, for insurers and reinsurers, the implementation of autonomous technology into their reserving practices offers both cost and time benefits, according to Mark Hewitt, creator of the Verisk piCalculator and Founder, Director and Head of Development at Rebmark, ... Read the full article
Revenues up at Willis Towers Watson as all segments perform in Q3
2nd November 2018
Global insurance and reinsurance broker Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has reported its results for the third-quarter of 2018, which includes an increase in net income of $139 million and organic revenue growth of 5%. Reported revenue increased 3% to $1.9 billion when compared with the same period in 2017, and net ... Read the full article
RGA completes two annuity transactions covering $3 billion of reserves
2nd November 2018
Reinsurance Group of America, a leading global life reinsurer, has completed a set of transactions with John Hancock Life Insurance Company that will see a subsidiary of the firm acquire an in-force block of individual payout annuities and provide reinsurance on a second block of similar business contracted in New ... Read the full article